Resources

Our mission is to provide the knowledge and resources necessary to counteract hate. While our current political environment is in many ways unprecedented, the nationwide scourge of Xenophobia, racism, and discrimination did not begin with the 2016 election. Just as they are etched into our history, so too is the struggle to defeat animus towards all.

Anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bigotry today—whether in the form of hateful rhetoric or official policy—is rooted in a calculated, insidious effort to contaminate American public discourse. This effort exploited a nationwide climate of fear that took hold in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. At its center: a small, interlaced network of analysts, activists and their respective organizations with access to funding, the media, and political institutions. Despite efforts to expose and delegitimize this network, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bigotry continues to infect our public discourse. Today, some of its greatest proponents enjoy access to the highest tiers of government. To successfully combat this animus, Decode Hate sheds light on what is driving it.

To learn more about other efforts to decode hate, we suggest the following resources.

Since 1971, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has been instrumental in the fight against discrimination and bigotry. Through litigation, educational programs, and advocacy, the SPLC works to challenge and expose hate in America. In 2016, they published “A Journalist’s Manual: Field Guide to anti-Muslim Extremists,” to effectively challenge and refute the leading proponents of anti-Muslim bigotry in American public discourse.

Based at Georgetown University, the Bridge Initiative is an ongoing research project designed to address the issue of anti-Muslim bigotry from an academic, and yet accessible perspective. The Bridge hosts a range of informative content—videos, factsheets, reports, and graphics—that serve to educate and enlighten readers on the topics of Islam and anti-Muslim bigotry.

The Center for American Progress (CAP) landmark report: “Fear, Inc. The Roots of the Islamophobia in America,” changed the way advocates and policy professionals approached the topic of anti-Muslim bigotry in the American public sphere. Published in 2011, the report’s central premise: that a closely tied network of misinformation experts and activists was corrupting the way millions of Americans thought about Islam and Muslims, continues to resonate in our society today.

Released in 2015, Fear, Inc. 2.0. provided an update to the findings of CAP’s original report on the so-called Islamophobia Network. The revelations of Fear, Inc. led charitable foundations, politicians, and the mainstream media to sever ties with many of the network’s key members. At the same time, the period between 2011 and 2015 saw a spate of anti-Muslim policies that first emerged from the network itself. CAP released an interactive website to accompany its report.